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Friday, October 28, 2011

Here I Raise My Ebenezer

One of my favorite hymns is "Come Thou Fount." If you haven't heard this song, you can listen to it here. There is a part that say "Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by Thy great help I've come" For a long time I wondered what in the world an "Ebenezer" was. I looked it up and it is actually a reference to 1 Samuel 7:12 in the Bible. Right before this passage God had rescued the Israelites from the Philistines. "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the LORD helped us."' That stone was to remind the people of how God had helped them. This isn't the only time that the Israelites used stones to remember God's help and faithfulness. In Joshua 4, after the Israelites crossed the Jordan river they placed 12 stones in the Jordan where they had crossed to remember what God had done. Joshua told the people the stones were "to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." Joshua 4:6-7

The Israelites had a habit of forgetting about God and his faithfulness and needed reminders...not unlike me. How often do I complain about the way life is and sigh dreaming about how I want life to be? I often forget all of the blessings God has given me, all of the things he has brought me through, and how he has grown me. So I decided to make my own Ebenezer.

Supplies:
River Rock
Vase
Permanent Marker
Silhouette and Vinyl

I started with river rocks that I purchased at Michaels (with a coupon of course) and used a permanent marker to write down blessings, hard times God has brought me through, people God has placed in my life, opportunities He has given me, etc. When I finished I just placed them carefully in the vase.

I used my Silhouette SD to cut black vinyl to put on the vase. It says, "Here I raise my Ebenezer, Here by Thy great help I've come"

This Ebenezer is mostly a reminder for me, but if people ask me, "What do these stones mean?" I will be able to tell them about God's faithfulness in my life.

What a wonderful idea! Come Thou Fount is one of my favorite hymns--because I LOVE "Here I raise my Ebenezer"!! I have some river rocks my kids collected and today I was wondering what to do with them.

I love this idea. I have rocks with scriptures wrote on them.. put putting them in a decorative vase.. or even a mason jar super..... ♥ Praise the LORD Psalm 61:2 and also I have to say I love that song too. The words are so powerful, moves me to tears each time. I invite you to check out my blog as well at : victoryfirst.blogspot.com